Hug Twice

Today was CJ’s fall case conference, where we discuss his progress and talk about the future for him at school.  I met with the special ed advocate as well as his teachers and his speech therapist.

In good news, CJ’s made remarkable progress in the past two months with all his goals.  So much, in fact, that the teacher and speech therapist are now talking about how he should go on to Kindergarten next year vs going into a 5 day “mainstream” preschool program.  He’ll be 5 in June, so he’ll be age-appropriate for Kindergarten (barely) but I could hold him out another year.  They weren’t pushy about it at all, but it is a lot different than when I met with them in August and they were very “he needs more time before Kindergarten we think”.    So now I am re-pondering that.  I had mostly decided to find him a 5-day half-day preschool program, but now I am thinking, maybe we’ll start Kindergarten on schedule after all.

We’ll revist that in May at his spring case conference and decide for sure then.

He’s actually doing really well overall, so well that the speech therapist feels he may test out of needing speech therapy at all next year.  He’s progressing well and things are good.  However, he still has a lot of trouble attending.  He is very easily sidetracked and distracted and he doesn’t pay attention hardly at all.

I have trouble figuring out how much of that is typical 4 year old.  I kind of got in an argument about it at his case conference.  My goal is not to turn him into super-child.  It is just to get him to the point where he falls in the range of typical.  I wasn’t really feeling heard about that at all.  But that’s how I’ll decide if he’s ready for K - if he falls within the normal range for paying attention, not if he becomes super-listener.

Anyway.  I always cry, so I cried when talking about that.  Now I have to decide when/if to proceed with a more comprehensive evaluation before K to see if he might qualify for some services then.

I’m already talking about it like he’s going to K next year.  Maybe in my head I’ve decided to grasp onto that as proof that we’re doing a good job getting him help where he needs it and the fact he’s progressing rapidly now is proof of that.  Who knows.

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It seems that Alexa is finally shifting her sleeping patterns to an earlier natural bedtime.

The biggest problem was, that my spouse (who is also a natural night owl) goes to bed earlier now because of our own shift in work schedules.  So he couldn;t stay up with Alexa at night.  Alexa’s preferred way of going to sleep is for Daddy to carry her around and walk around the square that is our downstairs.  But without that, she doesn’t want to go to sleep and would just stay up until utter exhaustion hits.

She is not a fan of me walking her around.  Mostly she kicks me and tries to get down.

Matt had been walking her around before he went to bed (around midnight) but that hadn’t been working at all.  She liked being carried but would just happily giggle and coo for 10-15 minutes until Matt gave up and went to bed.  Then she and I started our standoff which lasted into the wee hours of the morning.

But the past few days, she’s actually gone to sleep when Matt carries her around at midnight.  Happily.  Last night even she said “Nigh Nigh” to me as they walked by my desk.

I know for most of you midnight is an absurd bedtime for an almost-two-year-old but its a start.  I know it will improve, because we used to struggle with CJ’s bedtime so much (not as much as with Alexa though) becuase my kids are natural night owls like their Dad.  But now CJ goes to bed at about 9pm every night without a problem.

Alexa now gets up at 7am every morning, which is not so great for me but, well, I’ll live with it.  Funny how when she went to bed at 3am she tried to sleep for 12 hours straight but now she only sleeps 7 and is up for the day.  Kids.  Who knows.

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CJ has a Wall-E video game that we let him play on certain occasions.  Lately, it has been reserved for when he poops on the toilet.  Hey, I was once above bribery.  Now my kid is four and still isn’t quite potty trained.  I conceded. 

Anyhow, a few days ago he was playing it, and got stuck on a certain part.  After trying it several times, he handed the controller to me and said “Mommy, I’m frustrated with this Wall-E game.  I need a break.” and went out into the kitchen for a snack.

I couldn’t have been prouder.  I beamed from ear to ear all day.

We have these bath toys that have different faces on them and are each labeled with an emotion.  He made the exact face of the frustrated one, down to his shoulder posture, when he said it, so i know where he learned that word.  Good job, Daddy who gives him a bath every night!

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CJ was hiding under my desk, and he had a look that just screamed “I am about to or am pooping” on his face.  I told him to go sit on the potty.

And he did, and a few minutes later yelled “I pooped a big poop on the potty!”

And so he did. 

Baby steps… someday, he will be potty trained.  Yesterday he pooped in his underwear for the sitter (I felt bad about it).  So we’re not there yet.  But, closer.

:ohm:

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Today Matt leaves for a business trip for 6 days.

I know I am spoiled, but Matt’s never left without us before.  I am totally freaked out.  Just me and the kids for 6 days.  No Daddy.

I hope the kids don’t hate me (too much) by the end of the week. 

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